Mulayam's Miserable Manifesto

The Samajwadi Party has released their manifesto. The photograph accompanying this report shows the actor Sanjay Dutt and the whatumaycallit Amar Singh releasing the document along with their political master, Mulayam Singh Yadav. Behind them is their party symbol – a bicycle.

Samajwadi means “socialist,” and this manifesto brings out the poverty of the socialist vision for India.

Mulayam, Munnabhai & Co. have pledged to abolish English education, discourage computerization, and prevent the mechanization of agriculture. There are also promises to grant “reservations” to various sections of society.

The idea: If we control The State we will use its force to bring forth these “benefits.” This central idea must be contrasted with the Libertarian one of abolishing all unjust use of State power and thereby establishing Liberty Under Law.

There is also the question of “vision.”

Mulayam, Munnabhai & Co. want an insular India, technologically backward, speaking in local tongues.

Libertarians see a successful, globalized India, a fully developed country, hugely urbanized, freely trading with the world, capable of communicating with the world using a global language, where Gold is money, where Capital is plentiful, and where every labourer has machines to help him in his work.

Commenting on the Mulayam manifesto, the Times of India says:

“It seems Samajwadi Party wants to drag India back by decades. That's why it wants to scrap English as a medium of education, even though knowledge of the language gives India an edge among developing countries in the world. In fact, China is going full throttle with English education. Not just this, the party's belief that getting rid of machines will ensure employment is absurd. If that was so, why are millions migrating from vast almost machine-free states like UP and Bihar to cities like Delhi and Mumbai in search of jobs? If SP wishes well for the country, it should be working out how to increase productivity rather than dabbling with nonsensical economics.”

The word “nonsensical” is apt.

What would happen if Mulayam & Co. banned ATMs and we were back queuing up before bank cashiers?

Nothing really makes sense in socialist democratic India anymore. Certainly not Mulayam, Munnabhai, Amar Singh & Co.

Should we vote?

Or should we Think?

Aristotle the Geek has an interesting quote of Ayn Rand in his post today, which deals with principled liberal politics in India. Do read the entire post. Rand wrote:

“Voting is merely a proper political device—within a strictly, constitutionally delimited sphere of action—for choosing the practical means of implementing a society’s basic principles. But those principles are not determined by vote.”

We have to establish these Principles through every available means, including blogging.

That is the task ahead.

But it is not a difficult one.

Regarding English: I once told a group of villagers, in Hindi, that one’s language was one’s passport, determining the geographical area wherein one could live and work. So if you knew Hindi, you could work in north India. If you knew only Tamil, then only Tamil Nadu was for you. But if you knew English, you were a world citizen, and could be at home anywhere in the world, for English is the world language.

The other day, one of these chaps came to meet me, bringing along his little son. He told me proudly that the little boy was attending a private English-medium school.

Also note Mulayam’s hypocrisy: the report says both his sons studied in English-medium schools.

That just about sums up the socialists: they are rank hypocrites with no dreams for the poor, for this nation. Under them there will never be Liberty. What will continue is abuse of State power for unjust ends, as each tries to implement his “plan,” his very own socialism. And we will remain an insular, backward country.

Socialism must be rejected.